1 NOTICE: This is the authors’ version of a work that was accepted for publication in Project Management Journal. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published and can be accessed via the following link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pmj.21273/abstract PLEASE REFER TO THE RESEARCH IN THIS MANUSCRIPT, IF CITED, AS FOLLOWS: Di Marco, M., Alin, P. and Taylor, J. (2012). “Exploring Negotiation through Boundary Objects in Global Design Networks,” Project Management Journal, 43(3): 24-39. Exploring Negotiation Through Boundary Objects in Global Design Project Networks Melissa K. Di Marco, Columbia University, Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, New York, NY, USA Pauli Alin, Aalto University, SimLab, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Espoo, Finland John E. Taylor, Virginia Tech, Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Blacksburg, VA, USA ABSTRACT Boundary objects have been shown to play an important role in sharing knowledge in and across firms. However, little research has examined whether boundary objects can facilitate emergence of common knowledge across national cultural boundaries. To examine this, we observed 1,428 design review interactions involving U.S. and Indian engineers. We quantitatively analyzed 419 interactions involving engineers and boundary objects and then qualitatively analyzed 67 instances of boundary object-mediated negotiation. We found that boundary objects can play a central role in negotiating complex design knowledge. We then induced a propositional theoretical model of boundary object-mediated negotiation in global design project networks. KEYWORDS: boundary objects; design; globalization; national cultural boundaries; negotiation; organizational boundaries; project networks